This invention relates to improvements in or relating to gas appliances and more particularly to gas burners or gas fires.
Gas burners or fires are well known which produce a decorative or flame effect which attempt to mimic flames from a real log or coal fire. The general aim of such mimicking effects is to try to achieve the most realistic natural flame effect simulating a coal or log fire but such attempts to produce such flames may be limited or such flames may not be as realistic as could be the case.
An object of the present invention is to provide a gas appliance such as a gas burner or a gas fire having a more realistic flame effect or a flame effect which is improved or different in one or more respects.
According to the present invention there is provided a gas appliance such as a gas burner or gas fire having means to vary the factors producing flame or flames in the appliance in a substantially random manner.
Further according to the present invention there is provided a gas appliance such as a gas burner or fire having means to vary the factors which characterise a particular flame or flames of the appliance whilst the appliance is turned to a particular setting, said means varying said characteristics and being for example means to vary the amount of gas being input to the appliance whilst on a particular setting, preferably, in a random, substantially random or pseudo-random, pre-set or pre-programmed manner.
There are many ways of producing the required randomising of e.g. the gas flow or pre-set program or variation e.g. of gas flow in order to produce a living flame effect and this specification details a number of ways this can be achieved. Overall, possibly the preferred way is to have an electronic randomising device coupled to a motor unit, the speed of the motor varying in a random way in accordance with the electronic randomising unit. In one embodiment, the motor may be connected to an axially reciprocable spindle that could be used in any number of a variety of situations to control gas flow (or air or air/gas flow or pressure), either by controlling a valve or by acting in or by an orifice or hole to vary the amount by which the orifice or hole is opened or closed in a random way, thereby effecting the amount of gas flow through the hole or the orifice.
The randomising device can include a container housing a fluid or liquid through which gas or a mixture of air and gas or air is introduced or bubbled through.
The randomising device can comprise or include a radial or axial fan unit possibly having different angularly spaced fan blade means and/or different aperture means in the fan blade means.
The randomising device may comprise or include a flapper valve.
The randomising device may comprise or include an unstable governor control or an oscillating vapour pressure fluid interface or a fluid oscillator which may be time controlled.
It is also possible that a pre-set program cycle of gas flow control or other control of the factors which produce a flame in the appliance may be provided by dedicated computer software formulated to yield seemingly the most effective or at least a much more effective decorative living flame effect.
Many advantageous features of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and drawings.